What is going on in Pennsylvania? In November 2021, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the Commonwealth Court’s conclusion that a school district had improperly expelled a student, J.S., after J.S. had accused another student on social media of being a school shooter – outside of the school day and off school property. While the school district claimed that J.S.’s posts substantially disrupted the school environment, both the Commonwealth and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania concluded that J.S.’s speech was protected under the …
Blog Posts
Social media meets freedom of speech: a complicated topic I predicted would be debated among lawmakers more than 25 years ago when I first encountered Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Essentially, Section 230 shields internet service providers (and now – although they did not exist when the law was first passed – social media platforms) from legal liability for the content of what a user on its platform may post. This legislation was passed in 1996, and now, more …
There is a single orange sitting on a kitchen table and two sisters want it. What is the solution to appease both sisters? You can split the orange in half and give one half to each sister. The older sister can receive the whole orange. Flip a coin, and the winning sister will receive the whole orange. Let’s say you split the orange in half to be fair to both sisters. Now, each sister has half of an orange. The …
During its 2020-2021 term, the Supreme Court agreed to hear 62 cases – a seemingly large number until you consider the nearly 7,000 it rejected. So how do the less than .01 percent of cases make it to the Supreme Court docket? You may think it takes superior scholarship and a little luck…and you’d be right. But sometimes you might just need to give the Justices the exact type of case they ask for. The Process Usually, the Supreme Court …
“Communication is key in negotiation” and “negotiation is an exercise in communication” – phrases you’ve probably heard so many times that they’ve become meaningless. What if instead, we said that negotiation is about communication and persuasion. That’s what the research of Dr. Robert Cialdini, an expert in the field of influence and persuasion through evidence-based research, has revealed. According to Cialdini, negotiation is about persuasion and how one can present their ideas to others through effective communication in a way …
Over the past five years, CMM Managing Partner Joe Campolo, Chairman of HIA-LI’s Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge (LI-IPH) Task Force, has successfully spearheaded efforts to quantify the economic impact of the LI-IPH and attract critical investment in the Park. Recognizing that the Park is the anchor of Long Island’s tradable economy, Campolo has led the way in creating bipartisan and public-private partnerships to move this critical economic development project forward. Joined by CMM Director of Communications Lauren Kanter-Lawrence …
The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to review its first major Second Amendment case since deciding Heller v. District of Columbia (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago (2010) over a decade ago. In the years since, mass shootings continue to shock the American conscience by taking or forever changing the lives of people from children to senior citizens and all walks of life. Despite the Court’s role as the “interpreter” of the Constitution, since these two landmark decisions (despite several …
Imagine you want to sell life insurance to a client. As part of your pitch, you might say, “Don’t you want to make sure your loved ones are left with some financial peace of mind?” The client will probably answer, “Yes, of course.” With this response, the client is probably thinking that they know they need to put life insurance on their radar, but still aren’t ready to focus on it. Now, what if you said this instead: “Is it …
Have you ever had a conversation with someone, and while they’re talking you say, “I see,” “Hmm,” or even “Interesting”… but when they’re finished, you ignore everything they said and go in with your pre-planned response? That’s called passive listening. The fact is, most people aren’t listening to understand – just to respond. You may think you’re showing that you’re engaged, but you won’t fool anyone for long. That’s where active listening comes in. In negotiations, active listening can be …
Delivering bad news may not top anyone’s favorite-things list, but did you know it can be used as a weapon in a negotiation? Whether you use it to gauge a reaction, make a counteroffer, or set the stage for other news that you may have, delivering bad news is an art. Keep reading as I talk about three ways to deliver bad news and how to wield these methods in a negotiation. 1. Using the Sandwich Technique Step 1: Start …